Severe Weather Kicks Up in Plains, South Again

While parts of the western United States seem to have skipped ahead to winter, with snow blanketing areas from Washington to Colorado, unsettled weather more reminiscent of spring is in store this week for parts of the Southern Plains and South.

The spate of storms - sometimes including tornadoes - is a fairly typical feature of November. Fall, like spring, is a transitional season when warm, moist air masses clash with cold, dry ones, creating a recipe for severe weather. But officials are still urging residents to keep up-to-date with their local forecast and be aware of the possibility of strong winds, hail and tornadoes.

The potential for severe weather this week is a product of a strong jet stream and high wind shear - when winds blow in different directions at different levels of the atmosphere - meeting moist, unstable air surging in from the Gulf of Mexico.

On Tuesday, the focus is on Louisiana, Arkansas and parts of eastern Texas and western Mississippi, according to the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (SPC).

This bout of severe weather is the latest in a series of disturbances to move across the Plains, including one last week that brought tornadoes and then snow to the Des Moines area just six hours apart. This system is tracking a bit further south than some other recent ones, though, said SPC warning coordination meteorologist Greg Carbin, which means it has more moisture to potentially tap into.

The timing of the system's progression increases the odds of nighttime tornadoes, which can be more deadly because people might be asleep when when warnings go out. The threat could come despite the system not benefitting from the additional instability that can come from the sun's heating of the ground and lower levels of the atmosphere, which help dry during daytime. The potency of the jet stream and other forces could be enough to overcome that limitation, Carbin said.

"Even very weak instability may be sufficient for damaging wind gusts and perhaps fast-moving nighttime tornadoes," he said in an email.

While the SPC has broadly identified the areas that are more likely to see severe weather, they can't pinpoint in advance exactly when or where tornadoes or hail might strike. That can only be discerned when storms have formed and forecasters can monitor them via radar and weather spotters who can confirm sightings of tornadoes and other types of weather.

The bottom line they emphasis is to keep tabs on the weather in your neck of the woods.

More From Climate Central:

Sea Levels Could Rise At Least 20 Feet Incredible October Warmth Guarantees Record Hot 2015 Widespread Storm Surge to Impact East Coast This article originally appeared on Climate Central, all rights reserved.

The winners are in from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "Weather in Focus" photo contest, picked from more than 2,000 entries taken between Jan. 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015.
"From rainbows and sunsets to lightning and tornadoes, the winning photos aren’t just captivating to look at, but inspire us to look at the world in different ways," said Douglas Hilderbrand, NOAA's contest judge and Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Lead. "It was difficult to pick winners from so many good entries."
In first place, from the category "Science in Action," is "Green Bank Telescope in WV" by Mike Zorger, Falls Church, Va.